Mining apparatus,



' W. E. HAMILTON.

. mums, APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED JULY I. I313. RENEWED SEPT. 29. 19.

1,303,303. Patented 13,1919.

n snip SHEET l- INVENTOR A TTORNEY.

Patented May 13, 1919.

1 a m o E I o o m y f t .4 4 M w. v y y v v a v fl a w u M w s I w m umI j I I I m 3 Q J LTFT yiL r T fl kw w y y a IVITNESSES: 1/, J-fi A;

Zi- BY A TTORNEY.

ms Nmwms warns co Pnnrmumon w-qsumamn. u c

W. E. HAMILTON.

MINING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FI LED"JULY l. 1913. asuzviau swnzs. 1911.

1',303,303. I Patented May 13, 1919.

H SHEETS-SHEET 1- v A TTORNEY.

WITNESSES.-

'w. E. HAMILTON.

MINING APPARATUS.

APPUCATION FILED JULY I. I913. RENEWED SEPT.29, 1911.

1,303,303. Patented May 1-3, 1919..

MEETS-SHEET A Witmco Ado MW WITNESSES: I

W. E. HAMILTON.

MINING APPARATUS APPLICATION FILED JULY I. 1913- RENEWED SEPT-29, I9.

v Patented May 13, 1919.

ll SHEETS-S HEET L- jj JNVEIVITOR.

A TTORNEY.

W. E. HAMILTON.

MINING APPARATUS. APPLICATION flLED mu 1 ma. nsuzwsuszvnze, 1911.

1,303,303. I Patented May 13, 1919.

3 n IVIT1VESSES' I, IZVVENTOR.

- e/bawumw 0;" W I Wig g:

' amok/m "Ins roams nuns m. rnnmurmm, mun/mm", 1 c

W. E. HAMILTON.

MINING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED JU LY I. 1913. RENEWED SEPT.25 HIT.

1,303,303. Patented May13, 1919.

ll SHEETS-SHEET l0.

ms 159 /u INVENTOR;

v WITNESSES; I WEB W w. E; HAMILTON.

mums APPARATUS. APPLICATION' FILED JULY l3 U313. RENEWED SEPT. 29. l9l1.

1,303,303. Patented "1&19 19 salsa: q-suzsrn.

WITNESSES: v I M FINIENTOR. v

. A TTORNEY.

I UNITED e t sm oFFIoE.

WILLIAM E. HAMILTON, on COLUMBUS, 01110, essmmon 'ro mm meme mime- TommiCOMPANY, on COLUMBUS, 01110, A oomommmom umso.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Continuation in part of application Serial 1V0. 513,341, filed August30, 1909. itenetted septernher 191%, Serial NO. 122,929. Thisapplication filed Jufy 1, 1913, Serial No. 776,864. Renewed September29,

1917. semi No. 194;o"8s.

To all whom/ii may concern:

Be it kno'wn'that WILLIAM E. HAMIL- TON, a citizen of the United States,residing at Columbus, in the county of Franklin and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improven'ients in Mining Apparatus, ofwhich the following is a specification, reference being had therein tothe accom pnnying drawings. I

This invention relates to esystein of clevices for mining coal inaccordance with the long wall plan. The system is adapted for thecutting of the coal in its natural bed and for carrying it away to a.suitable; place "for loading onto cars. Theztppamtus comprisesessentially a track rail and series cidevice's adiqite'dto be enperted'ty tlie'i ail and to' IJ'IOYQ' along itto perform the fsevei eloperations. Preferably, for the "sake of convenience, these (lBVlCGS areshown as'lndepemiently operable, but on this account "no less closelyrelated functionally than they Wonltl be if mechanically connected to"be held in fined relationship to each other. Not only are the devicesconnected to and supported by the rail, but they are so constructed thattheir operations have certain novel and pe culim? relationships witheach other. In (1011 motion. with the cutting and breaking down devicesthere is also provided. a coni' eyer which is niee eneenny' and.peciil'iar ly related' with the other pelts heelesci'ihecl.

= he pi-ieeipn object of the inventiim,

thei'eforeyisito provide e"-Svst'em of inining enclconveying devicesre'leted to eztcli other in e novel"'1-ii-tnner and adapted toe "ertiteto k. mt-remove the coat {ion-1 its natural 10 61,

The ppm-ems heiein'shown is mile ted to" be u'sed in errving outfa.process iv "ich is set fo'ftliztnl' claimed ininy 'copendiiigapplication "Seti *N ea-5,241, meenngust eo;

1 96 9-;- imcl t-hiis ffi eoess isnot tliei e f fe'el siined as a. partofthe present inveneienz; Said epphcttion-fiefiel No." 5153341'cl'iseloses an rippe tilt s" si'mils'i'r in any respeets to; thatherein (ism: This elb'p'lic-ettioi1 isg-thei'efore; ea 60 nnatidn "ofthe 'seil eppiiegtien Serial No. $15,841, as cone-ems the "struct ura'lin the manner to features which are ccnnno'nte theewe z p {1H cations.apfilicet'io'n hits new matured into Patent No. 1,244,601, one; 30,-1917.

Fi ure 1 shows a plan View of kI'f-Olititing and slotting machines in.op'eiatiiig'posit-ion.

Fig. 2 is a plan View, showing a machine in which the keif-cutting andslottingme'chanisms are combined. V

Fig. 3 is an elevation of the l'n'achii'ies, shown in Fig. 1, togetherwith their support ing devices.

Fig. {i is an elevation of the'inttc'h'ine shown in Fig.2.

Fig; 5 is a vertical transverse secti n through the'ho'dfi of the coalskewing: the

ne'i'n' operation, partly i Figs. 9 and 10 afe'dtazilviews'of parts of'the dust .C'UHBCtllTg me hanism.

Fig. 11 is a" vertibitl tnai sveise seetten through the body of theecu-1, showingftlfie vertical slotting. m chine-in position andthemeans" for supportin end guidin" fiche-same;

Fig. 12is a side e evetion at e sihttihg' machine, disclosing the ewe'r"ecnnecneris and supp'piting means.

Fig. 13-ls a fiag'inentary plan view of the.

slotting mechiiie. I

Fig. 14" is a. plhnvijew shdwing a modified construetionin which'the'kefi cuttin' end thesIQtfi-in "mechani ms are ccmbirie in a single mfitfry' machine. Figyltfiis a front elevetienyef the bin-ed kerfcut'tingand slotting machine,

showiiigtfth'e' souice df pewer enditeeenneetio'n with-the mechanisms,as well as the sup porting and uiding devices.

Fig. T6 is a veitieel tiansveise section thrmigh the body of the coal,showing the its " iscapableof being moved.,upward or downbreakingmechanism, together with its ing and supporting means.

Fig.1? is an nd view of the breaking device shown in h i 'gflti.

Fig. 18 is a plan view, showing the breaking device, illustrated in Fig.16, as-mounted on the guiding and supporting rail.

Fig. 19 is an end view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 18.

Fig. is a plan view showing the con veyer mechanism.

Fig. 21 is an enlarged plan view of one of the conveyer carriers.

Fig. 22 is aside elevation of a section of conveyer, chain and carrier,shown in Fig. 21.

Fig. 23 is a side elevation of the face of the long wall, showing at A aportion of the wall from which a cut of coal has been removed, at B acurtain behind which the breaking machine is at work, and at C a portionof the wall which has been cut and slotted ready for the operation ofthe breakin g machine.

Fig. 24 is a vertical transverse section through the body of the coal,showing two conveyer systems.

Fig. is a plan view of one of the conveyer supporting trucks, shown inFig. 21.

In the drawings my mining and convey ing systemis shown inoperation on abody guidof (i-n12, having a workingface shown at Thefioorofthe mineisshown at 4 and the roof is indicated at 5. Parallel with the workingface of the wall is established a series or r'ow'of posts several ofwhich are indicated aty6, 7 and 8] The posts are. secured in position byproviding at the upper and lower ends thereof threaded men'ibers 9 and10, which are adapted to be turned into snug contact with the roof andfloor respectively. The purpose of this series of posts is to supportthe track or guideway 11, this being accomplished, as shown in ig. 11,by providing on each post a bracket member 12 having a :vertical opening13 therethrough to receive the body of the post and; having aset-screwor hand wheel-operated screw :14; thereon to engage the postwhen 'the bracket niember 12 has been positioned' as desired, Thevbracket member 12 ward on the post and inf. this manner the height ofthetrack 11 can. determined at will. The track consists essentially of a,channel member appropriately mounted on the black st members. 12.Because of the manner of engaging the posts with. the roof and floor ofthe mine, the posts are easily moved from: place to place and when a cutpf coal been removed as, hereinafter de-' scribed the series of postswill be moved inward to a new position parallel withthe' new face'of'the coal tobe operated upon. Anotherpurpose of the posts is tofsupport a conveying system hereinafter described.

I also provide a second and outer row of posts, one of which is shown inFig. 2-1: at 15; these posts are similar to the posts above describedand are movable in the same manner and are intended to support a curtain16. The purpose of the curtain is to form a wall at a distance from theworking face of the coal, thereby providing a passageway in the minethrough which pure air can be circulated.

Each of the several machines hereinafter described is mounted on thetrack or guide way 11 and is movable thereon longitudinally in eitherdirection along the face of the coal wall to be operated upon, and afterthe coal dislodged by the series of machines is conveyed away, themachines remain on the trackway. The track is preferably formed ofappropriate sections secured together in any desired manner and themachines there on are moved inward along with the posts to the newoperating positions. This movement may be effected in any preferredmanner.

The first. operation is to make a number of parallel kerfs or slots inthe coal, preferably in horizontal planes, and in, the drawings I haveillustrated a coal seam which is being mined. by forming therein threesuch kerfs indicated at 17 18 and 19. These channels are formed by meansof the cutting machine shown in Fig. 1 generally at 20 and in greaterdetail in Figs. 5, 6 and 7. This cutting machine comprises the frameshown generally at 21, 22, 23 and 2% having the rollers 25 securedthereon to engagethe upper flange of the channel trackway 11, whereuponit is free to travel in either direction. The rollers 68 are alsoprovided for engaging the inner face of the channel to assist in holdingthe machine in place. The rollers 26, 27 and 27 engage the smoothvertical surfaces formed on the face of the coal by the slottingoperation hereinafter described and thereby properly guide thecuttingmachi ne 20 along the face. The frame of the cutting mechanismhas formed thereon the hubs 2-8, 29 and 30 in which is ro-tatablymounted the-vertical shaft 31, carrying the gear 32. The gear 32 mesheswith the. pinion 33 which is driven by a suitable motor. In theconstruction shown the pinion is carried on the crank shaft 34 journaledin the arms 35 and 36, and actuated by the reciprocating connecting rods37 and 38,.driven by the cylinders "at its lower end, each-spree etWheel driving -one of the cutting chains shown at 44,

' with,

and 4:6. The inner end-of. each chain -iscar ried by a sprocket Wheel 47mounted upon the inner end of an arm 458-, the three arms being mountedupon a frame member 49, journaled on thehubsQE, 29 and Boat 50, 51 and52. As shown in. Figs. 5 and 7, the arm 51 carried by the frame 49 has.attached to its end av worm gear sector .53, with which a the Worm 54meshes, the; latter being carried by [the shaft 55 operated through thecrank 56. When the crank is turned, the frame 49 is rotated, and: .thearms 4=S with their cutting chains are positioned. for cutting. orswung. out from the coal as desired.

Thecutter chains M no and; t6 can be of any usual or preferredconstructionandthey are formed.- with cutter carrying links 57 andconnecting links :58; The cutting tools 59 are. monntedinthe links 57and are staggored relatively to each other, as indicated in Fig. 5, soas to provide a kenf of suitable width- The shaft .31. carries a worm.69 which meshes with the Worm gearfil mounted at 62 on .the framemember 21. On the same shaft, or, if preferred, formed integral with.

the wormgear, is a .shease 63 with which -engages the-traction chain 64,A sprocket 65 1s mounted. at 66 onfthe frame 21 directly abovethesheaves 63,.and the traction chain 64 passes between the two wheels.As the sheave is driven through the worm-bland the worm gear 61 the.entire frame is drawn along the chain. Theefiect-of this constructionis to cause the cuttingirame to be:

moved forward as :rapid lly .as the cutting op erationcan take place. heend. of-the ,cha n, 64 is anchored by: the stake (57., locatedappropriately in the mine. The opposite end of the chain 64 may beconnected withthe slotting machine, to provide traction there.

for, and similarly may be extended to the breaking machine, if desired.lnthis mannor the whole system of machines-may move together, or theymay,,i f preferred, be operated independently, but. sequence.

The depths of. the, kerfs ag ough the mi eisdternsined by lengths and"positions :of the supporting arms 48,; and" the width of the .kerfs isdetermined by the degree of staggering gi ento the cutting, tools 5.9. 1is ,readi y gseenthat more than threecuttingch ains-may be provided on asinglhshaft if desired, .but ordinarily a channeliat to. I I

diiate makes the r k' ow aseasy st er e icn en beIma e 'Oii'e of thissystem. of;

mining, the coalrim large -;lliimps hir r nder mer m k ab en I w rangethe chai srrr rr t ly. 1

ntmrs hat a eeack. to be adi y-h nd d; I v

The dust arising in the cutting operation a 5. 8 as; 19' formed by the.cutting I hj i one East and, one ab the. bottom,

is. objectionable for several reasons and Lhaue provided] a. dustextractor which: is shown in Figs. 7,.28,.9t8l11(l1l0 com isingaaninclosed: fan :69 mounted onthe s ft 70, rotated by the belt or chain7],, driven by the pulley 72 on the shaft 31. The fan easlng'is providedwith a discharge opening 73, and into the fan easing, leads a -pipe74,opening into the pipe 75, which carries thereon the dust gatheringlblades 76, 77 and 78. The pi e 75 and t e fan casings are; mounted on te frame 79, which is secured aszshown at 80 to the swinging frame49, andis'therefore swung inward and outward with thecuttingchains abovedescribed, The dust gatheringblades or tubes inserted in thezkerfs madeby the cutmy improved mining and conveying system is the slottingmachine shown in Fig. 1,. neral ly at 81. isto form vertical slots atthe inner edges of the ker'fs formed by the cutting-machine 20.Onepurpose of theslots-is to render it easier to breakdown thebody ofcoal between twoof. the parallel kerfs formed by the cutting machine,and also to. provide a smooth bearing surface for contact withtherollers 26, 27 and 27*,as appears especially in' Figs. 5 and 24::at83. The slots 84 formed in. the roofand 85 formed in the floor alsoanswer the purpose of accommodating the drive or sprocket wheels and 87(=Fig..,11) of the slotting machine, after the coal has beenbroken downand the slotting. machine is engaged in operating on a subsequentcutting. As shown in Fig. 11' the rollers 88 are adapted to travel onthe trackway 11, the rollers beingzcarr-ied in the frame 89, and therollers 90 are adaptedto engage and bear.

The function of this mac ine againstthe side ofthe trackway 11 to guideand steady the slotting machine.

The-slotting machine is provided with a suitablemotor which is shown ascomprising fluid pressure cylinders. The motor 91 (Figs. 12 and 13) hasreciprocatin connecting rods92. actuatin the crank s aft 93 upon whichis mounts a-spiral gear 94: meshing with the spiral gear 95 mounted-onthe c11ttershaft 96.,- which-alsocarries the double sprocket wheel97. .Overthis wheel pass two link belts or chains; 98 and 99 leadingre:-

spectively tothe sprocketwheels 86 and 87 mounted respectively upon theshafts 102 and 103. At the inner ends of the shafts-96, l02and 1 03- aremounted the rotary cutters 104:,- 105, 106. Thejshaftswiththeir cuttersare supported by the arms, 107 (Fig. 13),

which lie within the corresponding kerfs. The shafts have'bearings inthe inner ends of the armsas shown at 108, 109, 110.

Mounted upon the outer end of the shaft 96 is the pinion 111 adapted tomesh with the gear 112 mounted appropriately upon theframe 89. Thesheave 114 driven by the gear engages the chain 164,, and the machine ismoved along through the connection of the chain with the stake'67.Preferab1y,-in order to hold the chain 64 in engagement with-the sheave114 'a-supplemental sheave 113 may be provided. As the slotting machinemoves along the face of the wall the rollers 115, 116 bear against theface and "assist in the guiding of the machine.

I have described the kerf-cutting' mechanism and the slot cuttingmechanism as being structurally independent of each other and I preferthe construction described, but, if desired, the two mechanisms can becombined to form a single unitary machine. $uch a machine is shown inFigs. 2, 4, 14

and 15. i The kerf cutting portion of this machine is practically thesameas has been heretofore described, but the slotting ma chine, insteadof "being mounted on a separate' framework, is carried upon the arms 50,51 and 52 extending backward from the bearings 50, 51 and 52. Insteadof drivin'gthe'shaft 96 means: of an individual motorythis shaftcarriesa gear meshing with the gear 66 driven bya bevel gear 60 The'bevel gear 60 meshes with the bevelduce' the breaking'machine shownpartlyin' Figs. 16, 17, 18 and-19. Referring to Figs.

16 and 17', a form of breaking'machine'f'is' shownwith its frame M117having where 118 thereon mounted on the trackway' 11,

and-athird roller 119 thereon to engage the side of the trackway andassist in the guiding and support of the machine. In this frame 117 iscarried a compressed air cylinder 120' in which the piston 121 is mounted, having pivotally connected therewith the linker piston rod 122 whichat its outer end 123' connects with the toggle members 124- and 12 5 theformer being pivotally mounted in the frame 117 at 126. Toggle member125 is pivotally connected at its lower end 127 with a breaking lever128 and a'link 129, which is pivotally connected at '130with thebreaking lever- 131. Arm

132 is pivotally associated at 127 with the members 125, 128, 129, andis mounted at its other end on the frame 117 at 133. The pipe 134 admitscompressed air into the cylinder 120't0 straighten the toggle 124 and125, and the arm being fixed at its upper end, the effect of the actionof the coinpressedflair is to push downward the outer ends of'thebreaking levers 128 and 131.

The lower block of deal 135 being undercut will: tend to break away inthe slot 136, whileg the block of coal 137 will tend to break away inthe slot 138. Suflicient power being exerted, it is'seen that thecoal'will be broken dowi'iward, and as the machine is moved along thetrack 11, the breaking effeet is produced at successive points, thefinal effect being to breakdown all the coal that has been-channeled andslotted.

Appropriate means for moving the breaking machine may be provided, itbeing neces sary only that the machine be intermittently moved forward,remaining at one point only longenou'gh to eifect the breakage of thecoal in that region.

For conveying 'away'the coal that has been cut and dislodged by themachines above described I provide the conveying means shown in Figs. 20to 24; As shown in Fig. 20, which isa top plan view, a large sprocketwheel .156 is; mounted in theframe 157 which is appropriately anchored,andat the opposite end ofthe wall'the sprocket wheel 158 is} inounfltedon the Shaft 159 driven by the mechanism shown at 160 on the platform161. i car or other receptacle is shown at'162, into which-the coal isdischarged through the spout 16-3. The con vey'r chain'164 formed oflinks'asshown in Fig; 22"pa'ss'es over said sprocket wheels.

At intervals thereon are c'arrier'inembers 165 having the upturnedflange 166 thereon, one such member being shown enlarged in Fig. 21. Themember is piv0tedat'167, thereby being rendered free to swing, out ofthe way of the posts shownin Fig. 20 and freely passingaround'thesprocketwheels at 156 and 158. 'The'action of the conveyerchain 164 and the carrying members 165 thereon, i'sshown especially inFig. 20 in which one of the carrying members is seen to be moving adetached block 168, while another isdetaching the block 169.

The process of the breaking and removing- '1s conventionally shown inFig. 23 in which the conveyer 164 has already removed the coal which'hasbeen cut away leaving the face A. Here are clearly shown the upper,lower and middle slots made by the 1 slotting machine and described"above. In the. portion of Fig. 23 marked B, there is shownin section ofthe curtain 16;'th ef relative position of which is more clearly shownin Fig. 24, behind which theflbreaking ma chine 1s assumed to be atwork. In the poi reeves, the leitter lieii iike t preper" tionmarked 0at 170 is shown the upper portion of the slet" made 'by' the passpjge'eithe shifting ma'chiiie one previbhs 'trip, and at 171 is shewhthekerfrnaflebyithe"cirttilig machine its last trip. Therefore thisregion o'fthe' cpatfece'is'ready for the-operation of'the machine. The"0rtio'n's Af, Behd represeirttlie cmrdxtmns af'pp'earin'gjfinthetfimebrdkeryepmfregiens in" '20; thef'c'oail havifig elif'b'een"ramfofved fipmthe A the? remmzfl now taking phfice om mqa eh z-sresemgsewn new yet hering'been efieetedinpertiehfG.

e i gitd Fig 3 n ey ir' g y tem shbwn in Fig: esrsft veflgfin the slots172" eiir1113," faldifi nel $1116- tion at fitelsmrslbt being Herein-'shoWn. As ab Ye ointed Gut, the letter" slot at:- mmodietes the lowersijrocket wheel en the sldttifig machine and" cirt'ti'n n'rechin'e, andhe'rein it is seen that it -a so aecpmmocfates the; c nyeger se seefioebia've described: In Fig. 4 I hefireshbfififi asli' plement'e'lv eqiveyer *compfisingthe :lqeit 1 4 mounted on the miller "arms 175, 1T6-having their 'bBBIiII gSEi II' frarmeilr iii the tfiltik'1785 whi'dh isstew Muppet lan view in Fig. 25. The" mner arms ami 176 are cI ihed,'hejihg'" h'igher" at" their outer to receive hetweeii them flie hel't'134 which is laden with coal; the; cbai being placed there n byfhaind.The trutik' 1' 78 is' 00h strtieted m be haves wwgrd the o'ftheebellwhiclil 'beihg'j'wbrliat 'Qn flie'pqst 6'" s mounted thebracket; 1791mm the roller I80 thereon o ve'r W'Iiidh the be iii If;OSI- tier; bythei dler' 1B1. e, ibftiqzri e belt m'elinted on: thetrufifl ffi csrries'fthe coal, white the" n gger" Xpertisn meufit q; onth Toner 18? is *e" retpre'ptortiqm I" have illustrated the ili it"Orfiy' in"VrfiCeI seeticm it bein 'WelI'uhdTefsteetflhwthehe'ltWhirlmarine y operate aim here it muTfd be mounted at its eifi'iis "an -liewthe' discharge eefia ma -wt e h.

e yste f? n stalled and? atfihfl same time, v, "cliain' a'ndcarrier-system, being emplbyedi fin- "tli'e purpose Of'ZremQVing'QtheIQrge lumps end' the belt eonveyer bemg use-(1' for carrying awaybroken pqrtinns of coa'l that may be shoveled o'ntb it. The meving ofthe belt e t rs s e i a d. t w d" he 'kmg; eof'the coal" is eeeom lishedet the seme time thztt the suspendmgjtraekwey fer the cutting,sl'ottin afnlf'h' mechines is moved, the; eiid ifiibhel ippejretienbeing the mevingjdi the 178,

en hosted separately, if desi and carrier system is employed, it maybemoved forward under ,a succeeding cut of 0621 by means of the supportingframes at the entls. which are seen to be mofliit'elon wheels.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that T have providedasystem of coal mining and removing devices which are c'hisely endintimately related to eka-dhio ther a'lthbiigh some of the parts areindependefitly'fl ierable. The single tree}; or guide seiiifs "t'osuT'plert and'bntr'el the: three mafchines which a I these machines aremoved by enge'gembiit with the same dvraft chei'nl And the severemachines are rlated fidt-enl'y structurally he'eause ef'the'trackwayjeiidschain an d furicr tifql'i'ttfly because of thecomelation'ship. of the series of operations, but also mechanisally ferthe reeso thaitene machine re fere's th'e Way for otherswhich follow. he

eutti li iha'ch iiie" m kes 'p'essibl'e the 0peraition offiieslo'teutter prev idirrg kerfs ii'ffid vyli-Lelrthe cutter si pport's eanextend; arid the ker'f cutter itself isg'uid'ed and contrdllecl hy theeiigw emerit' of its heels with the edges efs'lejts fiirpriedf be aprevielis actibiroifthesldtlefitter. 'e slot eutter'is not y g ieed andelm-pineal by t e gegement of its Wheels Withthe edges pf sldts' fermelduring its, reviqus Qperetion biitits nievemeiit is also maids possibleby w pr pw lyx rem-d s e in i wh h: the spreeket wheel's 84' ahtiil'8 5cah tiavel, The operation offlthe breakin machine is nede pjqss'ible b?the ievmation of the aforesaid slfoftswltie serve to artly detach theblocks of coa'l andjfqrm lines of breakage. The chain cenveyeris guidedin the slots formed by" the sibttln'g' msehiee during previous 0pere'tienst The supplemental belt conveyer e use is n p rt upi fte P-0K thesame devices Whieh siipfiqrt the guide rail fer the cutting, slottingand breaking me upon "thec aIfanQQt of ehiries, Airid se, it WiI'I- beseeIi' that all off a system" of;io miii aiilimiti g is devices forperfer'murg suecessiveiy 15111- ra llty of series of operations .resuitngrm the,

f'cir'metien of successiye e041 faces eeeh in a row parel'lel t0 arid et2i. editable dis- Hence from the seal face, a reiI carriedby -P s an lex en g .elpegL-lth w c and" -fleor engaging,

id rf e gil ndj w ll bf akingrmechw i news soe 'm eseeml e me t' yis'lipport'ed' thereby andga dep'ted resper tiireflyl-,

we M xi ti l se a i rt-t kerfein the: coal .t 4 break. dawn t metretime: teams- 1; e we; the

said rail bein disposed at an elevation be tween the leve s of theuppermost and lowermost kerfs, whereby the kerf cutting and breakingmechanisms are supported sub stantially centrally when in operation.

2. In a system of long-Wall coal mining devices for performingsuccessively a'plurality of series of operations resulting in theformation of successive coal faces each parallel to the preceding one,the combination of movable roof and floor engaging posts arranged foreach series of operations in a row parallel to and at asuitable distancefrom the coal face, a rail carried by the posts at an elevation betweenthe levels of the uppermost andthe lowermost ke'rfs and extending alongthe coal face, and ker-f cutting, slot cutting and coal breakingmechanisms movably engaging the rail and partly supported thereby andadapted re spectively to simultaneously cut a series of Verticallyseparated horizontal kerfs inthe coal, to simultaneously cut slotsextending upward and downward from the inner edge of each of the kerfsand to break down the blocks of coal between the kerfs and partlysevered by the slot cutting mechanism, whereby the said coal-cutting andbreakingdown mechanisms are supported when in operation substantiallycentrally.

3. In a system of long-wall coal mining devices for performingsuccessively a plurality of series of operations resulting in theformation of successive coal faces each parallel to the' receding one,the combination of a'mova le rail positioned for each series ofoperations parallel to and at a suitable distance from the coal face,rail engaging kerf and slot cutting mechanisms movable along the railand adapted respectively to cut a series of vertically separatedhorizontal kerfs in the coal, one near the floor, and slots extendingupward and downward from the .inner edge ofeach of the kerfs, a railengaging coal breaking mechanism movable along the rail in'de endentlyof the kerf and slot eutt ing niec ianisms and having devices forenteringthe kerfs formed by the kerf cutting mechanism and breaking downthe blocks of coal partly severedby the slot cutting mechanism, and aconveyer movable alon the coal face to remove the coal. broken own bythe breakin mechanism and having guide devicesa apted to enter the slotin the. floor formed by the slot cutting mechanism during the preced ingseries of operations.

4. In a system of long-wall coal mining devices for performingsuccessively a plu rality of series of operations resulting in theformation of successive coal 'faces each parallel to the preceding one,the combination of a movable railaplgiitioneg for each,

, to an feta, snitseri'es of operations par able distance from the coalface, rail engaging kerf and slot cuttinginechanisms movable along therail and adapted respectively to cut a series of vertically separatedhorizontal kerfs in thecoal, one near the floor,

and slots extending upward and downward from the inner edge of each ofthe kerfs, a rail engaging coal breaking mechanism movable along therailiindependently of the kerf and slot, cutting'mechanisms and havingdevices for entering the kerfs formed by the kerfcutting mechanism andbreaking down the blocks of coal partly severed by the slot cuttingmechanism, and an endless conveyer having parallel strands movable alongthe coa lffac'e, one of them serving to remove the coal broken do'wn bythe breaking mechanism, the saidconveye'r having guide d vices of whichthose on the active strand are adapted to enterthe slot inthe floorformed by the slot cutting mechanism during the next preceding series ofoperations and of which those on the inactive strand are adapted toenter the slot in the floor formed by the slot cutting mechanisnr duringthe second preceding series of operations. d

5. Ina system' of lougfwall coal mining devices for performingsuccessively a plurality of series of operations resulting in thesuccessive formation of ,coal faces each parallel to the preceding one,the combination of a movable rail positioned for each series ofoperations at a suitable distance from the coal faceandparallelthereto,rail engaging kerf. an slot cutting mechanisms movablealong the rail andada'pted respectively to .cut a' series of'verticallyseparated horizontal kerfs in the coal and slots extending upward anddownward from the inner edge of each of the kerfs, and guide devices onthe'said mechanisms for engag ingthe inner "surfaces ofthe slots outdur-- ing the preceding series of operations.

p 6'. In a system of long-wall coalmining devices for performingsuccessively a plurality 'of series of operations resulting in. thesuccessive formal/i Iof coal faces each parallel to the piece mg one,the "combination era movable-Tr n positioned for each seriesofbperati'Onsi at a' suitable distance from'the coal jface and-parallelthereto, a rail engaging kerf cuttip mechanism movable along the railand adapted to cut aiseries of. vertically separated horizonta'l kerfsin; the. coal", a rail engaging r op at ns- 4 tern-of long-Wall coalmining rining successively; a plu of operations resulting in ormation ofcoalfjfeoes each e i preceding-fine, the combine lovable rail positionedforeach;

0f 0 rations at a suitablepdistance alfaojand parallel thereto, a

engag ng k cutting mechanism mov- 1e, alon [theail and adapteditoeut a"j. t t, al

xtend" into the kerfs out by enttnig ineehanism, l cutters at the of theshitiftSltoent slots xte'nding d l, nward' from "the' innel Jch Of thekerfs and power rive vwheels on the upper en d m lfts positioned toextend respec pvyzargland downward into'theislots clu rlng thepreceding-series of operations,

f andinthe fioon.

i a k "successlve coalifaees;

' vable irail' positioned for end of ojieretions fetits tebledistmce'fmgtllgx d par lel' thereto, a rail meehenismniovabl v A, e k d t0 ;llli3.BellBSOffVeI'tl "separeted'horizontal kerfs in th'e' cozi-l,

I "n tslot cuttingmechanism mov-' able 'eilong-t erailand comprisinghorizontal 'ishefts positioned: to extend 'into the kerfs; kerf cuttingmechanism, cutters 'tl en s'of thefsha'fts to cut-slots exten n'g upwardanddownwerd from the inner go 'of ee oh 'of the kerf s and powerreceiv-' g drive wheels on the upper and lower afts positioned toeXtendrespeetively up are and downward into; the=slots cutdurg the precedingseries'ofoperations in "the tending upward inner-edgeiof eachTof on'gffthjf rising horizontal ishafts p e-- t i i allelto the'ipre dgni'cleidevicesxon v nttlngimechenlsms n'ner surfaces of the" slotseeivin'g-drive wh ls nfth pp 1 shafts positioned t Ward and downward-1ning the preceding series of roof and in the a; rail eng breaking meehenls independently. f:

. mechanisms and h "the kerfs formed 'ni'sm and '2 breaki partlyseveredby nisirn-andl econy face to removetl reaking mechani 1 icesadapted j to en e1 A I [formed b'y the' slotjelitt' g the preceding one,the combination a lnovable rail poi operations {at a suitable coal f'aeeand parallel t ing independentlydri ent1y v able along thereiliindependently of the cutting mechanism and adapted "to out 510extending upward ececling series 1of opera i.

' f long-Wall coal inining 4 ne,' the combination ned' for eeeh iseri estent maybe pbtainei tor 11 cents ee'oh; addres ling' t -Wuh1ntohill.'8--

and'fdoyvnwarcl from the

